Cut off from the TARDIS, the Doctor and Leela find themselves stranded on a small island. But they are not alone. It is 1907, and members of the Caversham Society have gathered on the hundredth anniversary of the death of Mannering Caversham, the greatest Magic Lanternist who ever lived.
But Caversham was also a supernaturalist who claimed to have conjured up a demon from the depths of hell. As people start to die, the Doctor begins to wonder if Caversham’s story might have more than a grain of truth in it. Can the Doctor and Leela discover what really happened to Caversham a century ago? And if they do, will they live to tell the tale..?
THE DARKNESS OF GLASS
I’ve almost always enjoyed Justin Richards’ Doctor Who work. He’s rarely been the most innovative or the most boundary-pushing writer, but he almost always demonstrates the ability to come up with an interesting idea and build a solid Doctor Who story around it without needing to be enslaved to tradition. So while “The Darkness of Glass,” the second story in the fourth series of Fourth Doctor Adventures, doesn’t push the boat out in the way I’d like this range to try, at least it’s not as mind-numbing as the previous offering.
The Doctor and Leela are stranded in a castle on a small island, the high tides cutting off their escape to the mainland, and a creature is on the loose in the castle, endangering the people within. If you think this sounds like “Horror of Fang Rock,” you’re not wrong, and the characters even comment on the similarity of the setting right at the top of the story. But “Fang Rock” was a fantastic story, and Richards’ script alongside Jamie Robertson’s sound design does a fine job of creating a claustrophobic, suspenseful atmosphere. Richards ties the story around “Magic Lanterns,” the precursors to modern slide and film projectors, and the lanternists that operated them. Doctor Who stories with historical settings are often made stronger by the inclusion of lesser-known historical details, and this story is no exception. Furthermore, the villain arises directly from the lantern technology, which gives the Doctor a great opportunity to engage in some historical detective work.
As a season 15 story, this is definitely more “Fang Rock” or “Image of the Fendahl” than “The Invisible Enemy.” The Doctor is largely in serious mode, embracing darker humor, while Leela’s hunting instincts are put to good use throughout the story. Unlike in many other Fourth Doctor Adventures, Leela is not portrayed as an idiot who cannot pronounce things; rather, she is a smart, resourceful warrior who rapidly gains the respect of the locals. The supporting characters are largely interchangeable, though Mark Lewis Jones goes delightfully over the top at the conclusion as Professor Mortlake.
The biggest problem with “The Darkness of Glass” is that it has very little to say, and as a two episode story there is little opportunity to dwell on the setting or the guest characters. It’s quite well made – the regular cast is great, and director Nicholas Briggs and the aforementioned sound designer Robertson do fine work with the material – but it’s still by-the-numbers Doctor Who. I don’t mind disposable stories, but this range never offers anything else. But hey, this is much better than “The Exxilons” – if “The Darkness of Glass” typified the Fourth Doctor Adventures, I’d still be agitating for something deeper, but I wouldn’t be nearly as down on the whole thing.
Recommended.
7/10